Ram Sharan Sharma

Ram Sharan Sharma (* November 26, 1919 in Barauni near Begusarai, Bihar, † 20 August 2011 in Patna ), usually cited as RS Sharma, was an Indian historian. He dealt with ancient and medieval Indian history.

Sharma came from a humble background, went from 1937 on the Patna College and received his doctorate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in AL Basham. After that, he was a teacher at colleges in Arrah (1943 ), Bhagalpur ( 1944-1946 ) and was in 1946 at Patna College, Patna part of the University, working with a university professor from 1958. 1958 to 1973 he was standing there in front of the history department. After that, he was a professor at the University of Delhi, where he also headed the history department. In 1985 he became Professor Emeritus.

His focus was on the social history of early India; he examined the position of the lower strata of the population ( Shudra ) and the emergence of feudal structures that were connected by him with a decay of the cities.

1959 to 1964 he was a visiting Professor ( Visiting Fellow ) at the School of Oriental and African Studies (where he was a Senior Fellow ) and 1965/66 at the University of Toronto.

He was founding president in 1972 of the Indian Council of Historical Research. In 1969 he was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship. In 1975, he was President of the Indian History Congress.

He came in his youth in contact with farmers leaders like Swami Sahajanand Saraswati and Karyanand Sharma and belonged to the political left.

Writings

  • Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass, 5th Edition, Delhi, 2005
  • Sudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order Down to Circa AD 600, Motilal Banarsidass, 3rd edition, Delhi, 1990, reprint 2002
  • Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 2003
  • Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India, Macmillan Publishers, Delhi, 1985
  • Urban Decay in India ( c.300 -1000), Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1987
  • Advent of the Aryans in India, Manohar Publishers, Delhi, 2003
  • Early Medieval Indian Society: A Study in Feudalisation, Orient Longman Publishers, Delhi, 2003
  • Looking for the Aryans, Orient Longman, Madras, 1995
  • India's Ancient Past, Oxford University Press, 2005
  • Indian Feudalism, Macmillan, 3rd edition, Delhi, 2005
  • The State and Varna Formations in the Mid - Ganga Plains: An Ethnoarchaeological View, New Delhi, Manohar, 1996
  • Land revenue in India: Historical Studies, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1971.
  • Light on Early Indian Society and Economy, Manaktala, Bombay, 1966.
  • Communal History and Rama's Ayodhya, People's Publishing House (PPH ), 2nd edition, Delhi 1999
  • Social Changes in Early Medieval India (Circa AD500 - 1200), People's Publishing House, Delhi.
  • In Defence of "Ancient India", People's Publishing House, Delhi.
  • Some economic aspects of the caste system in ancient India, Patna, 1952.
  • Transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages in India (KP Jayaswal memorial lecture series ), Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna, 1992.
  • A Comprehensive History of India: Volume Four, Part I: the Colas, Calukyas and Rajputs (AD 985-1206 ), People's Publishing House, 1992, Delhi 1992
  • Economic History of Early India, Viva books, 2011
  • Rethinking India 's Past, Oxford University Press, 2009
Patna University SOAS, University of London Arthur Llewellyn Basham Integrated Authority File
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